


Only if for a night

by strokeof_genie



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Cliche, First Time, Get Together, Humor, M/M, Pining, Sex Pollen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-12-20
Updated: 2012-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-27 15:23:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/297285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strokeof_genie/pseuds/strokeof_genie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The lead chemist on the experiment says that it's difficult to tell in the monkeys they've tested on, which makes Danny wince and stare at Steve because <i>monkeys</i>. Of course Steve would get into something that isn't even for humans yet, never mind what the actual purpose for it will eventually be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this one time I took some cold medicine and rewatched the first season of H50 while ill. [This happened](http://gold-in-them-hills.tumblr.com/post/12777216583/a-thing-that-i-will-one-day-write-possibly-i-say-one), and I liked the idea so much that later on, [this happened](http://gold-in-them-hills.tumblr.com/post/13325895044/h50-fic-preview-steve-danny-sex-pollen-sort-of).
> 
> And now this is happening, even though it changed quite a lot from inception until now.

“Oh shit,” Steve says, just after Danny hears a soft _puff_ of air. He turns to see Steve putting the rubber stop back into a beaker, but not before the man gets a stricken look on his face. He carefully sets the beaker down on the counter.

“No, no, not ‘oh, shit,’ Steve,” Danny says quickly, going to his side. “What did you do - did you _sniff_ it?” He asks, and Steve runs a hand over his face. He looks halfway drugged, like he does in the hospital when he’s had too much pain medication to be useful but he’s still pinching himself to remain alert.

“It was labeled perfume! They said all this was harmless anyway, they said they wouldn’t be engineering the toxin we’re searching for,” Steve says faintly, referencing the case they’re working on, which, okay.

“Okay, that might be the case, but that doesn’t mean that you _sniff unknown chemicals_ , Steven, you just don’t do that! What the hell is the matter with you?” Danny asks, wonders why he lets Grace be around this complete lunatic, and then gets very worried when Steve leans into the hand Danny puts on his shoulder.

“I’m not sure, but,” Steve trails off, apparently taking the question literally. He curls an arm around Danny’s shoulders, pressing close. "I feel hot." So, _so_ many responses to that, but the feel of Steve's breath on the side of his face stops any of them.

“All right, okay, no reason to panic,” Danny says, very close to panicking himself. The technician who is giving them the tour had gone ahead, but Danny flags him down and he's back quickly. “The Commander found - something, and,” Danny flaps a hand at the beaker of red-pink liquid, “now he might need a nap or medical attention or smelling salts or some antibiotics, I don’t know, maybe a bandaid."

“He got into the - _oh_ ,” the tech says, and to Danny that sounds ominous. “I’ll need to get the sedatives,” he says, and then edges away. When Steve stops draping himself on Danny and starts pushing on him, moving him to lean against the counter, the technician bolts out the door they came in from.

“Sedatives, what the fuck,” Danny doesn’t get to yell any louder at the closed door, because Steve presses him against the counter with his body and kisses him, breathing hard against Danny’s mouth. Danny opens up, jaw dropping in shock and a little in arousal because he’s only human, and Steve just fucking takes his mouth.

The seconds that Danny counts during the kiss last forever, but it’s really only ten until Steve pulls back again. In those ten seconds, Danny tries to not kiss back - he fails; tries to ignore Steve’s very, very hard dick rubbing off against him - he fails; really, the only thing he is successful at is putting his hands on Steve’s shoulders like he will eventually push him away.

He does when Steve’s hands slide up his chest and start tugging on his tie. “No, Steve, I have no idea what is going on right now but you need to,” Danny is cut off by Steve’s mouth harsh on his, biting his lips until he lets Steve in. Steve’s hands push him hard, digging into his hips with bruising force, and _ow_.

Danny should be anything other than half-hard at the way Steve is pushing him around and holding him in place. He knows this with his brain but not with his body, and he’s being perched on the counter with Steve’s hands tightly gripping his ass to lift him. It’s doing things to Danny, for him, and when he groans as Steve cups him through his pants Steve lets him break the kiss, grinning hot and dirty in Danny's face, _God_ that's annoying.

It’s the kind of grin that makes Danny think of fucking, which is deeply unsettling in these circumstances. “You smug, evil, horny weirdo, you need to take a step back and, I don’t know, channel your SEAL training and remember that you don’t actually want to, well, I have no idea where this is going but _will you leave my tie alone_ , my God. Who the fuck leaves a beaker that makes people act this way _unattended_ , show them to me so I can punch them."

Danny doesn’t think he was very coherent or convincing, since Steve is tugging at his collar and has his tie hanging loose from his shoulders now, mouthing at his jaw and neck. “Do too want this,” Steve says into Danny’s skin before sucking a hard kiss, and fuck, that’s above his collar, that will have to be explained away and he knows that there’s no logical way to do that.

“No, Steve, you inhaled something because you’re an idiot and you went about sniffing mad science projects, where is that little guy in the lab coat, he promised me sedatives for you.” Danny winces as Steve bites him for that, but Steve’s still humping against him.

Like a flipped switch, Danny suddenly wants to have this. It is more than just thinking Steve’s hot in a detached and friends-only way, because he’s never had to deal with the reality of Steve’s cock hard and pressing against him, the warmth of his body. Steve’s hands are mussing his hair as they bury into it, holding Danny still for another kiss. Danny wonders if the tech chickened out of bringing the sedatives, wonders if he could get away with letting Steve have his way, and then feels like an absolute tool for thinking it because _hey_ , that’s taking advantage of his best friend and that’s a dick thing to do.

But he - “fuck, Steve, babe. You’ve, you’ve really got to try and think about this, please?” Danny asks, and he wonders what happens if Steve can’t think about it.

What does he do then, what does he let Steve get away with, what can Danny get away with? He can't hurt Steve when he's like this, and since the fight way back when they met Steve's military training has never mattered against Danny himself. They're both armed, still, but Danny doesn't have to be forced to admit that he knows that Steve could take him.

"Thought about it," Steve says, and his voice makes Danny _want_ to spread his legs. "I have thought about it, Danno, and I am going to fuck you. God, your ass in these pants, I just want to bite it, lick you," Steve moans, like he can't help himself, and. See, that? That is something that Danny knows that Steve would never say to him had he not sniffed the rabid inhalant version of Viagra on _'roids_.

Nothing, _nothing_ can happen, because Danny will have to deal with the fallout for the both of them, because Steve is too drugged to make decisions right now. Neither he nor Danny have the emotional fortitude to deal with the guilt that would surface, either, what the hell is Danny thinking?

He is spared from thinking too hard on it when the technician sneaks back into the lab, looking thoroughly terrified. Danny catches his eye and nods, then pulls Steve back in to lick into his mouth, hurting a bit at Steve's happy grunt. It lasts and lasts and _lasts_ , getting deeper as Steve licks around Danny's mouth, tasting the muffled moans, and God. Steve is so hard against him, big and hot, Danny can feel him through their clothes. Danny's trying not to thrust against the thigh Steve grinds between his legs. When Steve grunts, flinches, and pulls hard on Danny’s hair, he knows that the tech literally saved his ass.

He’s a little irrationally pissed, but he blames it on having to deal with Steve’s heavy weight slumped against him, a syringe still sticking him in the neck. “Get that thing out of him, will you? What the hell, can I please have a stretcher here, and we might want to call an ambulance.” He staggers forward, propping Steve up long enough to set him down on the floor, leaning him against the cabinets.

"I am so, so sorry. Detective, seriously, someone is supposed to be manning this experiment at all hours, and I have no idea," the tech babbles, looking paralyzed with fear now that he's done his duty. Danny just wants to - _fuck_ , he isn't sure about what he wants to do. He's breathing hard as he looks down at Steve's slumped body, and it is so hard to believe that just a moment ago he was all over Danny and grinding his, _well_.

Danny turns away from the technician who is still flailing apologies and pulls out his cell phone to dial 911, because it is either that or continue to stare at Steve's dick, while showing off how he's pitching a tent too.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve rests fitfully in the hospital, between the fluids with a small amount of sedatives seeping from the IV and the very large, possibly elephant-sized tranquilizers the tech shot him up with. Danny waffled about being in the same room with him when he woke up, but decided that this really isn't the type of thing you get to chicken out of. After all, he wasn't the one who was drugged, and maybe Steve doesn't remember anything.

The lead chemist on the experiment says that it's difficult to tell in the monkeys they've tested on, which makes Danny wince and stare at Steve because _monkeys_. Of course Steve would get into something that isn't even for humans yet, never mind what the actual purpose for it will eventually be. "Monkeys. I would hate to see what it does to them, doctor, I really would," Danny says, and tries not to judge the chemist too harshly.

"It's quite interesting, detective, due to the already sexualized and aggressive nature Macaques have - that is the species of monkey that we use. If you would like, and this could be quite helpful to our research, you could look at some of the data and see how it correlates to what you experienced with Commander McGarrett. That would be - well, we'd need to chart the aggression level, see if it spiked in him, we're not even onto testing chimps yet so," the chemist would keep going if Danny didn't interrupt him, Danny knows.

"I call my daughter monkey. It's her nickname," Danny says, a little desperately. The sexualized and aggressive nature of monkeys have nothing to do with how Grace could climb out of her crib, or over gates and down stairs, and he doesn't want to flinch every time he calls her that.

"You call her monkey? I have to say, I find that strange," he says, and Danny just stares at him. Danny knows he can't literally smack someone over the head with their own hypocrisy, but he _aches_ to.

"It's because she could climb out of her crib - why am I explaining it to you, you who creates an inhalant that makes mammals act like _sex-crazed monkeys_ , like it's normal to do that, go away," Danny says, uncrossing his arms to make shooing motions. Predictably, the chemist just asks more questions.

It's a relief when, hours later, Danny is left alone with Steve's sleeping body. It's been such an appallingly awful and embarrassing and hectic and did he mention _embarrassing_ day that Danny can barely think about it. He can't even contemplate calling Grace, because he always finds it hard to speak to her when he isn't proud of himself.

Danny stands up and leans a little over Steve's bed when he starts stirring, because it took a few hours and sure, these people are medical professionals, but Danny worries. "Hey, you back with us? You okay?"

Steve opens his eyes and flinches, eyes darting from Danny's to the door to the chair to - oh, the mark on Danny, the one Steve made that he can't hide with a tie. Danny leans back, standing up, giving them both space. Okay, well, _well_ , shit; Steve remembers, and this. Danny has no idea what to do in a situation like this, except be happy that apparently Steve's still healthy. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and tries to ready excuses and reassurances that _no_ , Danny isn't going to do anything even though he was obviously buying what Steve was selling.

He even opens his mouth to apologize, but Steve beats him. "Danny, I'm so sorry," Steve says, and yeah, Danny expected this, given Steve's attachment to all guilt everywhere. It's just that Danny is pretty sure that it's obvious that _he_ is the one who should feel guilty, given how far it went with him being the only one in his right mind.

"What are you even saying, I should be the one apologizing, I wasn't the drugged one," Danny says, and for some reason Steve just frowns at that, wearing his Danny's A Crazy Mainlander face, and it's so normal that Danny knows that it'll suck but they'll get through this, and he feels a surge of relief.

"No, you were the guy who was almost _raped_ ," Steve snaps, and then looks horrified, and to be honest Danny is a little horrified as well, because this is how _Steve_ sees it, first of all and second of all - the guy is a cop, okay, if Danny really were some kind of victim this is not how he should be treated.

Danny is going to have a chat with him about his bedside manner. But the former is the issue at hand, here, not the latter, for now.

"Steve," Danny says in the same tone he'd say _idiot_ , "you wouldn't have done that. You wouldn't have raped me." As soon as Danny says it he knows that it is easily the most ridiculous thing he has had to say since, well. He can't think of anything.

He wants nothing more than to get drunk tonight and show up for work tomorrow with absolutely _no one_ remembering this day. But as soon as Danny thinks that, he knows he's wrong, because Steve's lying vulnerable and so guilt-stricken it's palpable from where Danny is standing, and he wants nothing more that to kiss him again.

"I would have," Steve sounds sure, and it's like he's trying his hardest to drive Danny away, which, of course he is, to him he almost hurt Danny. To him, he still could. "Danny, I wasn't - I just _wanted_ so badly. I would have," Steve says, and Danny feels like a coward for not telling Steve that hey, Steve isn't really the rape-y one in the room, and Danny is very sincerely sorry. Danny opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, but working to get any noise out takes time.

It's choked when he says it, but Danny is kind of proud that it comes out at all. "I never said no," and from Danny, for this conversation, it's as close to saying _I want your cock_ as they'll get.

"You never - _Danny_ , you shouldn't have to, no one should have to, I am _so sorry_ ," Steve pleads, and Danny can't handle this. He can't, he wasn't meant to handle someone like Steve McGarrett looking at him like this and acting like this or guilting over _him_ , consequences and circumstances be damned.

“If I had thought for one moment that you wouldn’t go all extreme McGarrett guilty on me, and if I thought it would have helped? I would have let you -” Danny starts, but Steve looks horrified, like he would kill himself to never have this conversation go this way. “See, that? That’s the face that stopped me. I thought of that face when I thought about your reaction to finding out you’d fucked me, and I thought about the unknown medical aspects, and figured it probably wouldn’t help.”

Danny watches as Steve tries to rearrange his face into something other than a horrified grimace. “I don’t mean - Steve, Goddamnit, let’s just talk about the case, since in reality all that happened is you took some drugs, we made out, and then you took some more drugs." Steve stares at him uncomprehendingly, and Danny sighs. "I am fine with that interpretation of the events, Steven, are you? Kind of high school, but your emotional maturity never really progressed past that, did it? Don't answer that, you would be lying, but whatever," Danny says, talking now just because that's what he does, he's arguing because it's what they do. "So, drugs and high school frottage. Okay?"

After a moment Steve says, "Yeah, okay," and Danny lets himself launch into a very detailed version of what Chin and Kono did while Danny received phone calls and visits from medical professionals in the hallway outside of Steve's hospital room. Danny can practically see all of Steve's SEAL training rearing its ugly head to suppress everything, and hates the bitter and resentful feelings he has alongside how grateful he is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Masturbatory sex scene with self-penetration, just a warning.

It should be well, and fine, but now Danny is acutely aware of what he is missing. He hasn't been with a guy since before Rachel, but now all of the cravings and the needs just come to the surface, and Danny wants. He deals, though, and they catch the guys who are manufacturing the toxin they're searching for.

The Governor is pleased, and whatever conversations she and Steve have behind closed doors and over phone lines, Danny is not privy to. Two days and counting, and Danny feels...like he's coping. It's not a nice feeling to be pulled in so many directions that he can barely think, but he can deal with it. He's more worried about Steve, who is - well, if Danny is functioning, Steve is _hyper_ -functioning.

Steve has gone superSEAL, hyper-rational, and watching him move is sort of exhausting to Danny; he's attractive, God, how did Danny not care so much before, and it's hard because it's obvious that Steve is still feeling helpless, and he's so full of suppressed kinetic energy that it's making everyone else fidget. And then there's the anger, the large amounts of helpless rage that Steve has, that he doesn't think anyone notices. The one conversation he and Danny have had recently almost ends in bloodshed, simply - or not simply, okay, Danny is aware that he isn't known for his tact - because Danny mentioned that talking to someone might help. This is after Steve punches the guys who made the real toxin in the _face_ , okay, so sue Danny for getting a little mouthy.

Steve is angry about being subjected to daily phone calls from the chemists who made the sex perfume, he's angry about dealing with the Governor and her calls, he's angry when he sees the marks he left on Danny that Danny can't hide without makeup, and fuck if Danny is going to do _that_. Danny is trying so hard to be _normal_ about it all that he is pretty sure he almost has himself fooled.

At least, until the Governor calls _him_. "How are you?" She asks, and Danny is...shocked. He's probably been in shock since two days ago when Steve kissed him, but things like this just help so much.

"I'm - what? Ma'am?" Danny says, and feels like hitting himself in the forehead, talk about a d'oh moment.

" _How are you_ , Detective Williams? Commander McGarrett says that he doesn't know when I ask him, so I have taken matters into my own hands." When she says that, Danny suddenly realizes that she can see their medical records, and holy shit, she actually knows the real story. She wasn't fed lies like the HPD.

"I'm - fine, ma'am. I'm fine," Danny reiterates, and feels weary about it, because he's said it more in this particular instance than all the times he's been shot at or _shot_ , and that's a little fucked up.

"No you aren't." She sounds so sure when she says it that Danny wants to punch something, or just take a baseball bat and fuck something up. Those feelings probably prove her point. "But you will be, won't you? We need you on the team, Williams. He needs you," she says, and it's a little softer, like she knows she shouldn't say it. Danny wonders what she and Steve actually talk about, because it should not be _him_ , ever. That is just, just so very odd.

"He doesn't - yes, ma'am, I'll be fine. I'd be worried about the state blowing up if I left the team, honestly, I mean you sign off on the requisition forms," he says, and gets a laugh. "But I haven't even considered it, leaving. Okay? He and I aren't talking right now, really, but if you could just tell him that the next time you call. Um, with your busy schedule and all." Danny winces, and realizes that he just asked the Governor to _pass a note_ to Steve for him. Isn't that like asking a teacher?

"Have a nice afternoon, Detective," she says, still laughing, and hangs up before he can answer. Danny has a strong _what the fuck just happened to me_ feeling, and it lasts the rest of the day, especially when he hears Steve's phone ring not an hour later.

They call it an early day since it's been paperwork since the arrest, and Steve seems calmer, somehow. He still barely looks in Danny's direction, which is really hard for Danny to not take personally, but he's giving off less _I want to light something on fire_ vibes. Danny doesn't know how to make this process go faster, and it doesn't help that he can barely look at Steve and listen to him while knowing what his mouth tastes like, what his dick feels like rubbing off against Danny's hip.

Danny's pretty excited to drive home and think of nothing but keeping the car on the road. When he was younger, over a decade ago, he'd slept with guys. And then he became a cop, and fell in love, and got married. He's always been a relationship sort of guy, he knows this.

He dates, he falls in love, it's a thing he does. He never did that with guys. He assumed it was a phase he went through, when he thought about it at all. Danny's realizing now that Rachel probably changed him fundamentally. It's relationships he's looking for, and Steve is the most stable person he has on this island that he can rely on.

He knows, logically, that any need, any thoughts toward guys, they were overshadowed by how in love he was with Rachel, and how long it lasted, and by everything afterward. It's just - he feels like he's been half hard since Steve pinned him to the counter of that lab and tried his hardest to rub off against him.

He's a mess, and if he didn't know better, he would almost be grateful to not have Grace this weekend. He falls into bed and tries to think of nothing, but that's like thinking of nothing and then thinking of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Only, Mr. Stay Puft is Steve's dick, and isn't _that_ a hilarious thing. Danny feels like hitting his head against something.

In the sleep he does manage to get, Danny wakes up feeling Steve's cock hard and big against his hip. When he wakes up fully he is, of course, alone in his bed, and blesses that he actually gets a full day off today - God willing. He lies in bed and tries not to think of _anything_ , but his cock is hard and tenting his boxers, and it's second nature to reach into his nightstand for the slick to jerk off.

He doesn't want to be the guy who thinks about inappropriate people when he does his business, he's avoided most thoughts of people who weren't Rachel. The dream, though, the dream he just woke up from about Steve pinning him to the counter and getting his pants and boxers down far enough to just _rub_ at Danny's hole - _that_ is forefront on Danny's mind when he starts jerking off.

Unconsciously Danny spreads his legs wider, planting his feet on his mattress, and when it creaks a little he knows that Steve would have him on his own bed, not anywhere near Danny's apartment. Danny sighs as he gets a slick hand around his cock, and keeps his pace slow and steady, working himself up, thinking to take the edge off long enough to get some more sleep on his day off.

Danny wants to get off, he _wants_ it, and when some of the lube he's using drips, trailing down and he can _feel_ it run between his ass. God, he can't help it, he arches and gets a hand under his leg. Danny knows that his wrist will ache later but it's worth it when he rubs hard against his hole and a shudder runs though his body.

"God, yes," Danny moans because he can't help it, but it's been too long and he needs to pull his hands away and use more slick if he's going any further. His shoulder will hate him but he wants to _get off_ , and there's a feeling in his gut when he gets his middle finger inside himself up to the second knuckle that spurs him on. He hasn't felt it in too long, and he's not anywhere _near_ his prostate. It doesn't matter, because with pulling on his dick, arching his body to get deeper inside, the stretch when he adds a second finger, and the feeling of his slick knuckles nudging past the tight rim of his ass, Danny feels so fucking close.

Because he hates making things easy for himself or maybe because he doesn't know how - it's the thought of Steve's fingers inside him, or of his fingers inside Steve, just of the man in general - that makes him come. He clenches hard around his fingers and pumps his fist around his cock, feeling come splatter on his chest as he shudders, and arches, and gasps. He's biting back saying Steve's name, and how much worse can he make an _orgasm_ on himself, Jesus wept.

When he eventually gets up to wipe himself off, he quietly acknowledges to himself that he's pretty well fucked, and not in the way he'd like to be. And then he goes back to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny's fabulous at undercover work, okay, he's a genius. He's a self-aware and in control type of guy, _and_ , and he's good at lying. This is how he knows that he doesn't have a sign that says "I want to fuck my boss" on him, and this is why he doesn't act any differently during his job. Steve still is acting twitchy with him, but Danny can't do anything about it. It's not that he won't, because he's treating Steve exactly as normal. 

It truly is that he _can't_ , not without making waves. Steve's started driving himself around, or hitching a ride with Kono during work, since he can't keep his eyes off the mark he left on Danny's neck like it's _either of their faults_ that it's there. Danny doesn't know what to do since Steve is obviously using his SEAL training to ninja his way out of being alone in a room with Danny. 

Kono and Chin are by turns sympathetic, awkward, embarrassed, or normal, but they have never joked about it - yet. He knows that they're coming, and hopes that they're months if not years away, and he's grateful for their tact. His team, himself included, is not known for tact. With some of the things that he hears on this island, he wonders if the people of Hawaii have ever heard of tact, some times.

He just hopes he can rely on them to help him at least _talk_ to Steve, since he hasn't had more of a conversation with him after the hospital. He and Kono meet Chin up at Kamekona's, and Danny lets Kono order for him since he trusts her, and if he goes up there he'll end up with pineapple-jalapeno flavored shave ice or something because Kamekona likes to torture him.

Kono comes back with Chin in tow, and hands Danny a nice and normal coconut-strawberry, and for a moment Danny lets himself wonder if he could just - just let it be this, let himself have these friends and give Steve the space to deal with this at his own pace. Danny would love to have the emotional fortitude to do that, he really would, but he _doesn't_. Since he met the guy, Danny hasn't gone a day without some form of communication, hasn't gone more than a few days without an actual conversation with Steve. 

They haven't spoken except for dealing with work since the _thing_ happened, and it's certainly not because of Danny. 

Danny has precious little he can rely on, and Grace's voice on the other end of a phone call is the only thing that has been keeping him sane. Steve is - Steve is his _best friend_ , and Danny will shoot his hand off before he messes with that, but that doesn't change the fact that he needs it. He needs Steve and how absurdly normal he makes Danny's life, from picking up Grace at school to badgering Danny toward the beach, to interrogating suspects in cruel and unusual ways. Danny will get over the issues he has, and Steve will do his deny-cope-suppress SEAL training until it's all normal.

When Kono and Chin are seated across the table from him and looking expectant, Danny sighs. He bets that this shave ice will turn his lips pink.

"So here's the deal. It's been a week and something's got to give, am I right? Not that I don't like seeing you two as much as I have been, especially you, Chin, it's nice to not have to hurry up and eat my malasadas to avoid the judgment. But things have to get back to normal eventually, we have to start functioning completely cohesively again." Danny thinks about outlining his plan, but the thing is: he doesn't actually have a plan.

"So you're going to force the issue," Kono sums up, and looks oddly approving. "It's about time, brah." It's pretty startling because Danny isn't entirely sure that approving is a good thing. He, now that he thinks about it, was maybe hoping that they'd rein him in or talk some sense into him, give it more time. Leave the awkwardness, bury it, build over it. 

"What issue? There's no issue, and there won't be an issue. I just want things back to normal," Danny says, aware that he is lying through his teeth. Watching them exchange the knowing looks that speak entire sentences he's not privy too, Danny suddenly knows that they know it, too. 

"Danny, shut up, man," Chin says, but he says it kindly. Danny takes another bite, and watches them watch him, because hey. If they are willing to help, and put up with his and Steve's issues, well - Danny's getting used to ohana, and this is so very humbling to him. "Okay, so here is what we do," Chin continues after a moment, and Danny's always been a little bit in awe of Chin and how smart he is, and of Kono and how talented of a _rookie_ she is, it's really amazing. And he watches them quietly plan some sort of strategic op on _their boss_ for him, all with him as really nothing more than a prop.

He and Kono hang out for an hour after Chin leaves, and Kono badgers him into another shave ice - mangoes and something else, so sweet his cheeks hurt and dark red that he _knows_ will stain his lips, but hey. She's helping him. He's not going to volunteer this information, but he would go out and buy a Hawaiian pizza and eat it if Kono wanted him to.

Maybe he should make that offer to Steve? But that would probably just freak him out further.

"What is this, again?" Danny asks, mostly because he knows that Grace will like it. And because he wants to talk about anything other than work, or what he's about to do.

"Mango and pomegranate and blood orange. The blood orange flavor is new, but Kamekona wanted to be nice, so no ghost chiles for you," Kono says, and Danny absolutely adores her teasing grin. He lets himself feel lucky that he's hanging out with the most beautiful woman in Hawaii, with her uncomplicated smile for him. Otherwise he'd have to think about how this feels like the preparation before an extremely dangerous mission, with the unsettled and anxious sensation in his stomach.

He finishes his shave ice as Kono drives them back to headquarters anyway, because she bought it for him and he's still hungry, which he might not be tonight. Ideally, he and Steve would talk, and Steve would tell Danny that it's all cool, and they'd go for beers, and Danny would pay, and then Danny would be so relieved that he forgets to eat and drinks too much and gets hung-over and pissy the next day, and Steve makes fun of him.

Chin is just about to get onto his bike when Kono pulls up next to him, and in some cousinly-island-witchcraft, they nod to Danny in synchronization. They are terrifyingly efficient, or efficiently terrifying. It's one of the two. 

Chin wishes him luck and rumbles off, and after a moment and before Kono starts poking him in his underbelly, Danny gets out of the car. She doesn't take off immediately, but then, he didn't really expect her to. Chin's job was to unobtrusively wrangle Steve, and Kono's is to make sure Danny gets his ass into headquarters - Chin was _very_ specific. 

"I don't really know what to do," Danny admits to Kono. "I mean, you know me, I guess I can admit that I have a tendency to fly off the handle," he says, and Kono snorts, " _occasionally_. Hush, you. What do I say, what do I do?"

"You'll know what to do," Kono says, and when Danny frowns at her she just rolls her eyes. "Danny, you're the one who actually gets him to listen most of the time, how do you do it then?" When she asks that, Danny really doesn't have an answer. "No, brah, I'm serious." It occurs to Danny that she may be serious, and saying serious things, while calling him 'brah.' This island kills him sometimes, just kills him dead.

"I usually just tell him the truth," Danny says, leaning over to speak through the passenger window to her. "The truth is usually that he's crazy and that is isn't a Spec. Op. mission," Danny adds, because occasionally it has actually been that. 

But he can't tell the truth here, even if she doesn't know that. From the unguarded look in her eyes as she tries to give him a smile, Danny guesses that Kono does know. Which is just - how can she think that? The truth, the reason this is so awkward, is why this situation is happening, and it is why Steve is probably hiding from him. It needs to be shot dead and buried so that they can get back to normal and so that Steve can relax.

The _truth_ , the one that Danny never mentioned to either of the cousins and that neither of the cousins brought up during their planning, is something that is never going to see the light of day. This isn't court. The whole truth isn't necessary to this. Steve doesn't need proofs and testimonies and there is no need for Danny to swear over a Bible. They discussed fixing the situation, but not specifics on how to fix it. 

"So do that," Kono advises, before making shooing motions. "Go be truthful, win the heart of the military prince, and in a few months blush angrily when Chin and I gently mock you." She grins at him, now, and it's wide and confident and happy, like she knows something he doesn't.

Danny blinks, and then glares, because _damn it_ , he had a nice plan going before this. He feels shaken by her confidence in him, in this, like the thing that kept any hope from building inside of him is jarred loose. He starts walking into headquarters with a wince and a glare, because this isn't going to end well, and it is going to hurt.


End file.
